AAA Capagro Innovation harvests $146m for agrifund

Capagro Innovation harvests $146m for agrifund

France-based, farming-focused venture capital fund Capagro Innovation reached a €124m ($146m) second close yesterday, following a €66m second tranche featuring corporates Groupama, Agromousquetai, Isagri, InVivo and LSDH.

Insurer Groupama, agribusinesses Agromousquetaires and InVivo, agricultural software provider Isagri and liquids packaging producer LSDH committed capital alongside financial services firm Crédit Agricole and French state-owned investment bank Bpifrance.

Capagro Innovation invests in growth-stage, market-ready businesses in farming-related sectors such as agriculture, agro-economy, agri-food, nutrition and bioenergy.

Following the second close, the fund plans on investing €10m in each portfolio company, compared with the €1m to €5m that it had previously targeted. Capagro also aims to increase the number of its portfolio companies from 15 to approximately 20.

Bpifrance had contributed €37.5m to the fund in 2014 as part of a €58m close in January 2016 that included Crédit Agricole and Groupama.

Financial services firm AG2R-La Mondiale, dairy products manufacturer Groupe Bel and Sofiprotéol, the investment arm of nutrition and renewable technology group Avril, as well as rice producer Agrica, farming cooperative Terrena, and sugar and bioethanol producer Tereos also backed the first tranche.

Jean-Baptiste Cuisinier, chairman of Capagro, said: “The growth of the digital and robotic sciences, advances in biology and biotechnologies, and demands from society regarding agriculture, food and the recycling of biomass, have all converged.

“Our fund has thus provided itself with the means to respond to the changing capital needs of the startups it supports.”

– The original version of this article appeared on our sister site, Global Government Venturing.

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